Casehardened a Stevens 44 1/2

Posted byrexnewkirkPosted inUncategorized

Today I case hardened a Stevens 44 1/2 I am building with 2 barrels (38-55 and 22 LR) with a nice english stock blank. I blued the barrels and casehardened it. The mix was 2:1 wood:bone charcoal, heated to 725 C for 1 3/4 hours and 15 minutes at 700 C. The water was about 10 C. I bubbled air for 2 hours and left the air on during the dunk but on the back side of the tank on the bottom. The box was about 3/4” above the water. The action was polished to 400 grit with worn belt and degreased with acetone. The colours are very pleasing for sure.

Published by rexnewkirk

I am a hobby gunsmith by night and teach at a University by day. I love taking old basket case but classic rifles and breathing new life into them. I do have a Ph.D. but it is in feed processing and nutrition and nothing to do with classic rifles but some of my friends call me the gun doctor for bringing these pieces back to life. I especially enjoy some of the old school methods like bone charcoal color casehardening.

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